I believe the trade for Cliff Robinson for Jud Buechler and John Wallace in 2001 started the wheels in motion... this deal started the team moving in a playoff direction and set the table for other players interest in a new winning franchise.
Before this deal they were just a teal mess.

I believe the trade for Cliff Robinson for Jud Buechler and John Wallace in 2001 started the wheels in motion... this deal started the team moving in a playoff direction and set the table for other players interest in a new winning franchise.
Before this deal they were just a teal mess.

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Excellent point. That was Ground Zero. Instead of hoarding his cap space to land one big free agent, Joe used it in trades to swap for better players. I believe he later traded Cliffy for Bob Sura's short contract, which ended up as part of the Sheed deal.

The Cleaves trade for Jon Barry and a Sacramento first-rounder is pretty amazing, too. Here's a full list.